Here’s the latest news from the technology industry, which is coming under increasing scrutiny from regulators around the world.
34 States Unveil $113M Settlement Against Apple For Alleged iPhone ‘Throttling’
Attorneys general from 34 states and district attorneys from multiple counties unveiled a $113 million settlement against Apple over alleged iPhone “throttling,” where the tech company reputedly slowed down older phones to encourage trade-ins, according to an announcement.
The settlement resolves allegations that Apple provided “misrepresentations” regarding iPhone batteries and allegedly used software that slowed down processing performance to handle “insufficient” battery power in older phones. Critics claim Apple installed the software to slow phones and prompt consumers to buy new ones, but the company maintains it only did so to protect phones from damage due to weak batteries.
Either way, California Attorney Gen. Xavier Becerra said in the settlement announcement that Apple “withheld information about their batteries that slowed down iPhone performance, all while passing it off as an update. This type of behavior hurts the pockets of consumers and limits their ability to make informed purchases. Today’s settlement ensures consumers will have access to the information they need to make a well-informed decision when purchasing and using Apple products.”
California will get $24.6 million of the overall settlement, which also comes with “injunctive terms” that will offer transparency to shoppers and discourage “future misrepresentations regarding Apple’s battery capability,” according to the announcement.
EU Auditors: European Commission Needs To ‘Scale Up’ Regulation
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) found that the European Commission has not completely addressed the intricate novel enforcement challenges in digital markets, the boundaries of current enforcement mechanisms and the rising amount of data to be examined, according to a press release.
Additionally, the auditors determined that the commission has restricted capacity to watch markets, examine the veracity of merger data and proactively sense antitrust infringements.
“In the last decade, the Commission has been using its powers in merger control and antitrust proceedings effectively,” ECA Member Alex Brenninkmeijer said. “But it now needs to scale up market oversight to be fit for a more global and digital world.”
Facebook Could Encounter Suit From FTC, States
Facebook could encounter a lawsuit as the Federal Trade Commission and many states attorneys general reportedly complete a single case, or multiple cases, against the social media company.
One unnamed source said in a Reuters report that the commission’s staff have suggested that the commissioners sue the social media firm in federal court so as to allow a collection of states — headed up by New York — to join in the case.
“We don’t comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, but as we have said before, we will continue to use every investigative tool at our disposal to determine whether Facebook’s actions stifled competition, reduced choices, or put user data at risk,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement, as per Reuters.
New Digital Regulations Could Let EU Ban Tech Firms
European Union watchdogs may receive new powers to ban web companies that contravene anti-competition regulations, a leading European official told a German news outlet.
Potential new rules for regulating large internet companies in the region of over two dozen nations are set for public unveiling in early December.
EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, one of the two officials scheduled to present the potential new rules, told Welt am Sonntag that the time has come to provide watchdogs with the power to do more than just publicly call out large internet firms, as per Reuters.
“Strict rules must be enforceable,” Breton reportedly said. “For this, we need the appropriate arsenal of possible measures: Impose fines, exclude companies or parts of their services from the Single Market, insist that they split up if they want to keep access to the Single Market. Or a combination of all of these.”
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